Lilly beats Q1 estimates and raises full-year guidance
The company reported earnings results before the bell on Thursday.
Eli Lilly rose in premarket trading after it reported earnings results that crushed Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year guidance, a sign that its diabetes weight-loss drugs are still racking up impressive sales even as pill alternatives enter the market.
For the first three months of 2026, the company reported:
Adjusted earnings per share of $8.55, compared to the $6.97 analysts polled by FactSet were expecting.
Sales of $19.8 billion, compared to the $17.8 billion the Street was penciling in. The company’s sales of its two blockbuster drugs came in above expectations.
For the rest of 2026, the company now forecasts:
Revenue to hit between $82 billion and $85 billion, giving a higher ceiling than its previous guidance of $80 billion to $83 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected $82 billion.
Adjusted earnings per share between $35.50 and $37, also higher than its previous forecast of $33.50 to $35, as well as the $34.52 the Street was penciling in.
Investors were eager for any insight into how Lilly’s new weight-loss pill, Foundayo, is doing. The pill was launched during the current quarter, so its sales numbers are not reflected in Lilly’s Q1 report. Early prescription data shows the pill is having a lackluster rollout, with fewer prescriptions in its first few weeks than Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight-loss pill, which came to market in January.
Lilly said Foundayo is off to a “strong start,” though it did not provide early sales figures. The Street expects it to generate $1.5 billion in revenue this year. Lilly also said 35% of launch volume came from telehealth and more than 80% of prescriptions were new to the category, which may quell some fears that Foundayo would cannibalize sales from its other products.
The drugmaker has also been on a shopping spree, looking beyond diabetes and obesity as it hunts for its next growth driver. This week, it announced a $2.3 billion deal with cancer drug maker Ajax Therapeutics, its fourth acquisition announcement this year.
